Richard V. Duffy

Butler University is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1948, the university lay witness to a harmonic rendezvous--a renaissance of harmonies untold to the human ear. What was to become of four freshmen who never stuck around long enough to become sophomores? They became, "THE FOUR FRESHMEN," and sent the nation into a harmonic rhapsody--trembling with the new vocal sonorities they gave birth too.

Lurking behind the shadows of the ivory walls, the four young men met, as freshmen, at Arthur …

On a very chilly Wednesday evening at Manhattan Jazz, Manhattan Beach, California, jazz was in the air. On stage with me were three of the finest jazz musicians I have ever had the pleasure of working with: Tom Owens-piano, Richard Simon-bass, and Mike Whited-drums. This gig took place in December 1987. We played many charts that night so I will highlight just a few, in that it was a tribute to Dexter Gordon, I’ll mention the charts he had recorded.

Jazz is popular all over the world, more popular than baseball. Jazz is the sound of freedom the sound of America. It was personified by Louis Armstrong; the sound of his horn bares the sound of freedom, of America. Were it not for Armstrong, there would be no jazz. The very essence of jazz lies within the persona of Louis Armstrong; he perpetuated jazz, in that it would continue for over a 100 years; it continues on today, growing, and branching out to new musical horizons; forms of expression. …

On January 26th, 1943, if you were in close proximity to the Paramount Theatre in New York City, you would have felt a slight tremor, 3.6 on the Richter scale. The tremor led to a cataclysmic eruption--a plethora of bobby-soxers were jumping up and down, screaming and hollering in front of the theatre not knowing their shoelaces were coming untied; it was mass pandemonium. One of the girls was pop singer of today, Eydie Gorme.

On a very chilly Wednesday evening at Manhattan Jazz, Manhattan Beach, California, jazz was in the air. On stage with me were three of the finest jazz musicians I have ever had the pleasure of working with: Tom Owens-piano, Richard Simon-bass, and Mike Whited-drums. This gig took place in December 1987. We played many charts that night so I will highlight just a few, in that it was a tribute to Dexter Gordon, I’ll mention the charts he had recorded.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA The Abyss Of Jazz (Abyss) is the most unorthodox and powerful dissertation on jazz existent. The Abyss contains 20 chapters and a three-page summary. Every chapter is designated to one jazz artist; including three of the most renowned divas of jazz: Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, and the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. At the end of every chapter, the author adds his comments of praise to the artist. There are photos in every chapter--color